By the letter of the law, the Sixers point forward is in his maiden NBA campaign after missing what would have been his rookie year in 2016-17 due to injury. Certain factions – most vocally out of Salt Lake City – have attempted to dismiss or discredit Simmons’ rookie status, pointing to the undoubtedly valuable experience of being around the team last season.

Rookie or not, Simmons is a potential game-changer for the upstart Sixers. If the taunts about his rookie status aren’t adversely impacting his game, Celtics fans would be wise to let that sleeping dog lie.

“If he were in Australia right now, a lot of people would call him a dickhead, and that’s how I personally feel.”

Trump made headlines this past weekend with his remarks concerning NFL players protesting during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” encouraging owners to fire anyone who “disrespects our flag.” Simmons believes that’s just one of many errors in judgment the POTUS has made.

“Some of the comments he’s just made about players, the NFL, the anthem. Everyone respects America, and everyone thinks America is a great country, but he’s the wrong person to be in charge of it,” added Simmons.

“I think, as a man, you’re not supposed to be tweeting like that, saying remarks about women, what people should be doing, how you talk to leaders of other countries, and putting America in a situation where it doesn’t need to be like that.”

The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft is a native of Melbourne but has dual citizenship. In the country he now calls home, though, he questions whether the man in charge is fit to be in office.

“He just brings more anger and hatred to the U.S. It’s unneeded,” Simmons said.

“I think the U.S. is a great country. I love being here. I’m very appreciative of the job I’m in. I think he’s the wrong person to be in charge. He’s definitely not a leader.”

Simmons will make his debut with Philadelphia this upcoming season after missing the entire 2016-17 campaign with a broken right foot.

It’s difficult to look at the young talent on the Philadelphia 76ers‘ roster and not think some great things could be in store for the franchise down the road. According to Thursday’s No. 1 draft pick Markelle Fultz, however, it means a playoff berth as early as next season.

“I am serious when I say that,” Fultz said at his introductory news conference Friday, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “That is not just me talking because I am a player. I really think that we can be a (playoff team).”

The Sixers have gone a combined 75-253 over the past four seasons, and that impotence has been rewarded with draft talent such as Fultz, Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, and Dario Saric. Still, Simmons – like Fultz – has yet to play an NBA game, while Embiid has been limited to 31 contests.

There will be growing pains, but the talent alone is tantalizing enough to wonder how long it will take to begin gelling. Coach Brett Brown is realistic, but thrilled.

“The fact that our backcourt hasn’t played a second together, hasn’t played a second of NBA basketball, one is 19, one is 20, is daunting,” Brown said. “But on the sadistic side, it is completely exciting to me. Imagine holding onto that and growing.”

The Process Era for the Philadelphia 76ers will either go down as a tremendous success or an ignominious failure, but regardless of the outcome, the past three seasons’ staggering number of losses will remain on Brown’s ledger.

Though Brown’s worked to maintain his sunny disposition, some stretches are still tough for him to stomach, like the Sixers’ recent spate of injuries.

“How can we all not look at that and just admit it? Let’s call it for what it is. My analytics people tell me I’ve played 64 five-man rotations since the All-Star break,” Brown told Corey Seidman of CSN Philly.

“That’s not 40 games, that’s six games. Think about that. It’s born out of injury, it’s born out of trades, that’s just the way it is.”

The injury situation is so dire that backup forward Shawn Long, fresh out of the D-League on a 10-day contract, logged 15 minutes in Monday’s loss to Milwaukee and nearly led the team in scoring with 13 points.

The Sixers have employed rosters numbering 23, 25, 18, and now 19 players this season owing to various injuries and transactions.

“The good news is we’ve had a lot of practice at this,” Brown said. “When I say we, I mean me and my coaching staff.”

That enthusiasm was short-lived, though, as the former LSU star suffered a foot injury in training camp and is set to undergo surgery this week, which is expected to sidelined him for at least three months.

Now there’s a chance he won’t suit up at all this season – if his agent has it his way.

Simmons is represented by superagent Rich Paul, who reportedly doesn’t want the 20-year-old to see the floor in 2016-17.

“I just got off the phone with somebody who I really trust in the NBA, and he’s like there’s no way his agent is going to let him play this year,” Bob Cooney from the Philadelphia Daily News said Monday on 97.5 The Fanatic.

“That’s an injury that you don’t mess around with, and he thinks he’s going to keep him off his feet all year.”

It’s worth noting Cooney has heard varying opinions from doctors, team officials, and people around the league, with this particular source saying he doesn’t see Simmons making his NBA debut in the upcoming campaign.

The 76ers have been cautious regarding player injuries, which they’ve had to deal with more than they would’ve liked throughout The Process. For instance, rookie Joel Embiid missed the last two seasons while recovering from foot injuries and related surgeries.

While it’s not necessarily what Philly fans want to hear right now, Cooney also named Simmons as the player who stood out to him the most at training camp. He described the 6-foot-10 forward as a playmaker who makes things happen for the squad.

It’s a virtual certainty that teams will explore all of their options, including trade possibilities, when it comes to their draft picks. But when that team is the Los Angeles Lakers, and the pick in question is a top-two selection in a draft class that features two franchise-changing talents, it’s going to raise some eyebrows.

Well, according to Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding, the Lakers are going to actively explore trading the No. 2 overall selection in next month’s draft.

According to Ding, the thought process behind moving the pick is that Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak wants to improve the team immediately, as Los Angeles will surrender its 2017 first-round pick to Philadelphia if it falls outside the top three.